The History of Special Olympics Worldwide & in Wisconsin
June 1963
Eunice Kennedy Shriver starts a summer day camp for children and adults with mental
retardation at her home in Maryland to explore their capabilities in a variety of
sports and physical activities.
July 20, 1968
Together with the Chicago Park District, the Kennedy Foundation plans and underwrites
the First International Special Olympics Summer Games, held in Chicago's Soldier Field,
with 1,000 athletes with mental retardation from 26 states and Canada competing in
athletics, floor hockey, and aquatics.
December 1968
Special Olympics, Inc. is established as a not-for-profit charitable organization
under the laws of the District of Columbia. The National Association for Retarded
Citizens, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the American Association on Mental
Deficiency pledge their support for this first systematic effort to provide sports
training and athletic competition for individuals with mental retardation based on
the Olympic tradition and spirit.
1969
Special Olympics Wisconsin holds its first state track meet in West Allis, with 200
athletes participating.
August 13-15, 1970
The Second International Special Olympics Summer Games take place in Chicago, Illinois,
with 2,000 athletes from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, France, and Puerto
Rico.
August 13-18, 1972
The Third International Special Olympics Summer Games take place at the University
of California-Los Angeles with 2,500 participants.
August 7-11, 1975
The Fourth International Special Olympics Summer Games take place at Central Michigan
University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, with 3,200 athletes from 10 countries taking
part. The Games are broadcast nationwide on CBS' "Sports Spectacular."
February 5-11, 1977
The First International Special Olympics Winter Games are held in Steamboat Springs,
Colorado, with more than 500 athletes competing in skiing and skating events. CBS,
ABC, and NBC television networks cover the Games.
August 8-13, 1979
The Fifth International Special Olympics Summer Games take place at the State University
of New York at Brockport with more than 3,500 athletes from every state in the U.S.
and more than 20 countries.
1980-1981
Special Olympics launches a training and certification program for coaches and publishes
the first Sports Skills Guide.
March 8-13, 1981
The Second International Special Olympics Winter Games are held at the Village of
Smugglers' Notch and Stowe, Vermont, with more than 600 Alpine and cross country skiers
and ice skaters participating.
July 12-18, 1983
The Sixth International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Louisiana State
University in Baton Rouge. A crowd of more than 60,000 attends the Opening Ceremonies
and approximately 4,000 athletes participate.
March 24-29, 1985
Athletes from 14 countries are represented in skiing and skating events at the Third
International Special Olympics Winter Games in Park City, Utah.
September 1986
The International Year of Special Olympics, culminating in the 1987 International
Special Olympics Summer Games, is launched at the United Nations in New York City
under the banner "Special Olympics-Uniting the World."
July 1987
More than 30,000 law enforcement officers from every state in the U.S. and seven countries
run 26,000 miles in the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics. The 1987
Torch Run raises more than $2 million.
July 31-August 8, 1987
The University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana, host
the Seventh International Special Olympics Summer Games. More than 4,700 athletes
from more than 70 countries participate in 1987's largest amateur sports event. The
Games are covered in Sports Illustrated and Time, and reach more than 150 million
people worldwide.
October 1987
Jimmy and Vicki Iovine of A&M Records and Bobby Shriver produce A Very Special
Christmas, featuring holiday music performed by top pop chart music performers, with
all album proceeds benefiting Special Olympics programs worldwide.
February 1988
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) signs an historic agreement officially recognizing
Special Olympics.
July 1988
Special Olympics Unified Sports™ is launched at the annual Special Olympics
Conference in Reno, Nevada.
April 1-8, 1989
The Fourth International Special Olympics Winter Games are held in Reno, Nevada, and
Lake Tahoe, California. More than 1,000 athletes from 18 countries participate.
February 11, 1990
ABC-TV's "Life Goes On" - the first prime time television drama starring
an actor with mental retardation devotes an hour-long episode to Special Olympics.
February 14, 1990
Sargent Shriver announces the historic decision by the Soviet Union to join the Special
Olympics movement. Special Olympics is the first charitable organization to implement
such a program at local and national levels in the USSR.
July 20-27, 1990
The third European Special Olympics Summer Games are held in Strathclyde, Scotland.
Thirty European countries are represented by 2,400 athletes participating in eight
official and five demonstration sports.
July 19-27, 1991
The eighth Special Olympics World Summer Games* are held in Minneapolis/St. Paul,
Minnesota. Six thousand athletes from more than 100 countries make this the largest
sporting event in the world in 1991. (*The official name changes in 1991 from International
Games to Special Olympics World Summer or World Winter Games.)
September 30, 1992
Special Olympics kicks off its 25th Anniversary Celebration-"Together We Win"-at
the United Nations in New York City, where the 25th Anniversary Traveling Exhibit
is officially launched before beginning a nationwide tour.
March 20-27, 1993
The fifth Special Olympics World Winter Games are held in Salzburg and Schladming,
Austria, with 1,600 athletes from more than 50 countries participating in five winter
sports. These are the first World Winter Games held outside North America.
July 1-9, 1995
Over 7,000 athletes from 143 countries gather in New Haven, Connecticut, for competition
in 21 sports at the ninth Special Olympics World Summer Games.
February 1-8, 1997
Nearly 2,000 athletes from 73 countries compete in five Olympic-type winter sports
in Toronto/Collingwood, Ontario, Canada for the sixth Special Olympics World Winter
Games. This event is the world's largest winter multi-sport event in 1997.
Spring 1998
Special Olympics Wisconsin places Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) as a priority,
with staff beginning to include ALPs in their year's action plans.
July 20, 1998
Special Olympics celebrates 30 years of heroes with the introduction of twelve 30th
Anniversary Global Messengers.
December 17, 1998
President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a Christmas concert
at the White House-entitled "A Very Special Christmas from Washington D.C."-to
celebrate Special Olympics 30th Anniversary. The event marked the first time a United
States President has hosted a Special Olympics gala at the White House. It also was
the first time that artists from the successful "A Very Special Christmas"
album series gathered to perform together.
February, 1999
Glendale athlete Cindy Bentley becomes the first ever ALPs athlete to be elected to
the Special Olympics Wisconsin Board of Directors.
June 26-July 4, 1999
The tenth Special Olympics World Summer Games are held in the Raleigh, Durham and
Chapel Hill area (Triangle) in North Carolina. Over 7,000 athletes representing 150
countries compete in 19 sports.
January 16, 2000
ABC-TV's The Wonderful World of Disney-the first prime time television movie about
the life of a Special Olympics athlete-"The Loretta Claiborne Story."
May 18-22, 2000
The Special Olympics China Millennium March took place throughout China. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
along with Special Olympics athletes, lit the Flame of Hope™ at the Great Wall of China,
and celebrated the Special Olympics movement with gala events in Beijing, Shanghai
and Shenzhen. Special Olympics China declared that they would increase the current
number of Special Olympics athletes from 50,000 to 500,000 by 2004.
May 20-23, 2000
The first-ever Global Athlete Congress took place in The Netherlands. 60 athletes
from every region of the world came together to discuss the future of the Special
Olympics movement, including ALPs athletes Cindy Bentley and Craig Schimming, and
volunteer Tom Pezzi. Despite differences in language, culture, age and gender, these
athletes were able to discuss topics, challenge existing ideals and vote on new resolutions.
May 27- June 4, 2000
More than 2,000 athletes from 53 Special Olympics Programs representing Europe and
Eurasia participated in the 2000 Special Olympics European Games in Groningen, the
Netherlands.
December 14, 2000
President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a Christmas concert
at the White House-entitled "A Very Special Christmas from Washington D.C."-to
celebrate the Spirit of Special Olympics. The event marked the second time a United
States President has hosted a Special Olympics gala at the White House. It also was
the second time artists from the successful "A Very Special Christmas" album
series gathered to perform together.
February, 2001
Wisconsin athlete and Global Messenger Cindy Bentley visits Greece to take part in
the lighting of the official World Games Torch lighting, as it traveled around the
world to Anchorage, Alaska for the 2001 World Winter Games. Milwaukee athlete Michael
Lunz took part in the Torch Run in Alaska as one of the first ever athletes to be
a torch runner with law enforcement officers.
March 4-11, 2001
Over 1,800 athletes representing approximately 70 countries competed in seven Olympic-type
winter sports at the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Anchorage, Alaska,
including Milwaukee athlete Kelby Hall and his peer Zer Her. The 2001 Special Olympics
World Winter Games was the largest sporting event ever held in the history of Alaska.
March 5, 2001
The United States Senate Committee on Appropriation conducted a public hearing, chaired
by the Honorable Senator Ted Stevens, on promoting health for individuals with Mental
Retardation. Special Olympics presented a Special Report on the Health Status and
of Needs of Individuals with Mental Retardation, which identifies actions to improve
the quality and length of life of persons with mental retardation. A panel of distinguished
speakers in the fields of mental retardation, healthcare, and physical fitness testified.
March 5-10, 2001
First-ever Global Youth Summit is held in conjunction with the 2001 Special Olympics
World Winter Games. Thirty-four students with and without mental retardation from
around the world worked in pairs to report on the World Games and discuss how to overcome
the attitudes and stereotypes that kids with mental retardation face.
Summer 2001
Cindy Bentley and volunteer ALPs coordinator Tom Pezzi travel to New York City as
the first time Wisconsin has been involved in the Special Olympics, Inc. worldwide
ALPs Task Force.
June, 2001
Special Olympics Wisconsin holds the first ever Healthy Athletes Program, to provide
basic health care screenings and testing to athletes at no cost. More than 350 athletes
had screenings and education on proper dental hygiene and the importance of a healthy
diet. Prescription glasses were prescribed and provided, in addition to custom-fit
mouth guards for soccer athletes. More than 75 dentists, hygienists, optometrists,
opticians and dieticians from all over the state gave of their time for a full day
of screenings and education in victory village.
July 12-14, 2001
Special Olympics African Hope 2001 is held in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Sun City,
South Africa. Former President Nelson Mandela, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Special Olympics
athletes light the Flame of Hope™ on Robben Island, followed by the world’s
largest Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics through the streets of Cape
Town. A soccer tournament, golf fundraiser and gala events in Johannesburg and Sun
City generate awareness of the movement throughout the continent. African Hope 2001
launches a major growth campaign to reach 100,000 new Special Olympics athletes throughout
Africa by 2005.
December 5-6, 2001
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher holds a conference in Washington, D.C., to address
the disparities in health care experienced by people with mental retardation. It is
the first conference of its kind to address the medical discrimination and neglect
of people with mental retardation, as well as their lack of access to affordable,
quality health care. The conferees develop action steps to address these issues.
December 13, 2001
President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush host a Christmas dinner at the
White House to celebrate the "Spirit of Special Olympics." Musician B.B.
King performs for the more than 100 guests.
February 11, 2002
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher releases A National Blueprint to Improve the Health
of People with Mental Retardation, the first government report to bring this issue
to the forefront and promote actions to remedy it.
March 22, 2002
Under the theme “E.T. and Special Olympics Celebrate Differences”, the
Universal Studios-Special Olympics partnership communicated the messages of acceptance,
tolerance, and diversity. E.T. carried the torch for Special Olympics and invite people
around the world to log on to www.ET20.com and become an ET Torchbearer to help carry
the message through a variety of ways - school activities, contribution possibilities
and volunteer opportunities.
July 19-20, 2002
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund partnered with Special Olympics to host an
annual birthday celebration for its Founder and Chairperson, former President of South
Africa Nelson Mandela. In alignment with the theme, "Unified Sports and Intellectual
Disability," Special Olympics athletes participated in non-competitive, Unified
Sports™ activities with children from the Children’s Fund at the Polokwane
Stadium in South Africa. An estimated 30,000 spectators watched 240 children each
from the Children’s Fund and Special Olympics participate in football (soccer),
floor hockey, athletics, golf, bocce and mini-cricket. This was the first-ever publicly
celebrated birthday event for Mandela.
June 16-29, 2003
The eleventh Special Olympics World Summer Games are held in the Ireland. Over 7,000
athletes, 3000 coaches and 28,000 family members and friends representing 150 countries
compete in 19 sports. This is the first time this major event will be held outside
of the United States and it will be the largest sporting event in the world in that
year.
March 27, 2004
Special Olympics Wisconsin takes part in the first ever (possibly in the world) Athlete
Leadership Program (ALPs) Global Messenger training through video conferencing in
four different locations of the state.
Feb. 22- March 5, 2005
The 8th Special Olympics World Winter Games is held in Nagano, Japan. Over 80 countries
will unite for competition. Worldwide, approximately 2,500 athletes, 650 coaches and
official delegates, 10,000 volunteers, 28,000 family members and friends, and 150,000
spectators are expected to be in Japan to celebrate and be a part of the Games.
June 11, 2005
Special Olympics Wisconsin holds its first State Athlete Youth Summit with nearly
20 participants, held in conjunction with the 2005 State Summer Games in Stevens Point.
Students, age eight to 17 with and without disabilities, were paired together from
around Wisconsin to share their experiences with Special Olympics, including what
it was like having a friend with a disability and discussing ways of reversing stereotypes
about people with disabilities.